KKU hosts its first International Phenomics Symposium with Global Top 1 % researcher guests in health science

 

Khon Kaen University Phenome Centre hosted the 1st International Reinventing University Roadmap for Phenomics Symposium (IRURP Symposium) and Short Course in Clinical and Natural Product Metabolomics in Phenomics for Precision Medicine (CliNaP–M) #5 between February 6th and 10th, 2023 at KKU Northeastern Science Park. The events were co-arranged with the KKU Cholangiocarcinoma Research Institute (CARI), the office of KKU Research and Graduate Studies (RGS), the Division of Research and International Relations Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, and the following national and international academic networks; the Center of Multidisciplinary Technology for Advanced Medicine (CMUTEAM), Chiang Mai University, the Siriraj Long-Read Lab (Si-LoL), Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B), Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University, Australia, and Imperial College London, UK.

 

 

On February 6, 2023, Assoc.Prof.Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, MD, President of Khon Kaen University,  presided over the opening ceremony and  delivered a welcome speech. “Phenomics-research integration is a way to cover every dimension of study including problem analysis to receive high medical precision. It particularly provides high effectiveness to overcome Cholangiocarcinoma, and it will be improved to solve other public health problems of Thailand in the future,” he said. “Phenomics can be beneficial to expression analysis of genes from responses to stimuli, such as food, drug and drink consumption, stress, and disease through chemical reaction analysis such as RNA using advanced analytical technology in order to gain an insight into the relationships between phenomena happening in our body and health conditions. This basic data can be not only used for medical decision-making by medical practitioners but also applied to quality assurance, agricultural material selection, food processing, and pharmaceutical industry because it enables us to analyze many types of substances at once with high precision, low error rate, and low cost,” he added.

 

 

The IRURP Symposium took place under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Khon Kaen University and Murdoch University, Australia.  KKU was honored to welcome two Global Top 1% researchers in health sciences as keynote speakers: 1) Prof. Dr. Jeremy Nicholson, Director of Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University and Imperial College London, and 2) Prof. Dr. Elaine Holmes, Deputy Director of the Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University.

 

 

Further invited  speakers came from both Thailand and abroad including Dr. Sze How Bong, Manager, Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University, Dr. Jia Li, Reader in Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dumnoensun Pruksakorn, Director of Center of Multidisciplinary Technology for Advanced Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Dr. Thidathip Wongsurawat, Head, Division of Medical Bioinformatics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Prof. Dr. Chatchai Muanprasat, Coordinator of BCG Frontier Research Cluster, PMU-B, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Jutarop Phetcharaburanin, Chairperson of KKU Phenome Centre. All of them spoke on the importance of phenomics research in diverse areas: medical sciences, food, agriculture and technology to raise awareness on phenomics research and future implementation in Thailand. Over 200 national and international researchers heard the presentations at the first seminar.

 

 

In the opening day KKU administrators and speakers visited the KKU Phenome Centre. The centre provides researchers with services for testing metabolites, Flash Column Chromatography, and Metabolomics short course training.

 

 

There were additional opportunities for poster presentations and 3-minute thesis pitching competitions.

 

 

In addition to the symposium, KKU also provided a Short Course in Clinical and Natural Product Metabolomics in Phenomics for Precision Medicine (CliNaP-M) #5. The course’ objectives were: 1) to expand researchers’ knowledge of systems biology and investigation of metabolic profiles, 2) to provide an opportunity for researchers to share knowledge and build research collaboration, and 3) to train researchers to gain more knowledge and skills in conducting and publishing their research.

 

 

Prof. Nicholson, Prof. Holmes, and Dr. Bong also participated in the Reinventing University Roadmap. They met KKU president and visited researchers in KKU’s Faculties of Medicine, Agriculture, Technology, Dentistry, Associated Medical Sciences, Science, and Pharmaceutical Sciences to discuss the development of phenomics-interdisciplinary research integration and collaboration between our faculties and the Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University.

 

 

The Phenomics Symposium was a highly successful event for fostering phenomics at KKU and developing international research partnerships for translational research in health and applied science technology. In particular KKU students and researchers have opportunities to work closely with Murdoch University and research advancement and collaborative proposals to international funding agencies.  KKU has made an important start to improving its world ranking through ideas and material exchange and strengthened collaboration with Murdoch University, and most importantly creating a management plan for gaining international funding for phenomics research.

 

 

Click the links below to watch honorary talks.

 

 

Reporting by Sathaphorn Onlamun

Editing by Prof. John F Smith

Faculty of Medicine welcomes overseas visiting professor from Stanford University USA

 

On February 8, 2023, Associate Professor Apichat Jiravuttipong, MD, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Associate Professor Wimorat Sriraj, MD, Associate Dean for Research and International Relations Affairs, welcomed Professor Alexander Dimitrios Colevas, MD, an expert from Stanford University, USA, to our faculty.

 

 

Professor Colevas is a Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and, by courtesy, of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS) and of Radiation Oncology (Radiation Therapy).

 

On this occasion Assoc. Prof. Nawarat Wara-Aswapati, PhD, Vice President for International Affairs, Khon Kaen University, also attended with Assoc. Prof. Srichai Krusun, MD, Department of Radiology. They discussed the development of collaborative-research and clinical skills development projects between the two institutions.

 

 

 

Reporting by Sathaphorn Onlamun

MD KKU welcomes overseas visiting professor from James Cook University Australia

 

On February 1, 2023, Associate Professor Apichat Jiravuttipong, MD, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Associate Professor Wimorat Sriraj, MD, Associate Dean for Research and International Relations Affairs, welcomed Professor David Blair, PhD, an expert from the College of Marine and Environment Sciences, James Cook University to our faculty.

Professor Blair has participated in the MD–KKU overseas visiting professor program in our Department of Parasitology between January 16 and February 23, 2023 as a voluntary academic scholar. The visit’s objectives were:

1) To explore possibilities to initiate and/or continue developing collaborative research project/s between our two institutions in Parasitology;

2) To provide academic support for (a) developing postgraduate studies in the Department, (b) producing research for publication in international journals, (c) editing English documents, (d) supervising staff and postgraduate students in seminars and relevant subjects;

3) To be involved in co-research projects with the staff of the Department and writing research proposals for research-grant support from international organizations which require an English language expert to edit and co-research on project; and

4) To provide opportunities for students to exchange opinions and knowledge, and to practice their English skills through dialogue and provide support for postgraduate students with their theses/dissertations for publishing in international journals.

 

On this occasion Professor Somchai Pinlaor, Professor Thewarach Laha, and Dr. Apisit Chaidee, lecturers in the Department of Parasitology, also attended this meeting. They discussed the development of collaborative-research and clinical skills development projects between the two institutions.

 

 

Reporting by Sathaphorn Onlamun

Overseas visiting professors from Kanagawa University of Human Service Japan visit faculty

 

On January 31, 2023, the Faculty of Medicine welcomed Professor Shinji Nakahara, Professor Moriko Shiramizu, and Professor Ryoko Okui, overseas visiting professors from the School of Health Innovation, Kanagawa University of Human Service, Japan, to our faculty.

 

The visit was scheduled between January 31 and February 2, 2023. The objectives were: 1) to learn diabetes care system in Thailand, and 2) to learn the roles of advanced nurses in Thailand.

On this occasion, they visited the Nursing Division, the Diabetes Mellitus Clinic, the Hemodialysis Department, and the Internal Medicine Ward. In addition, they discussed DM care system, self-management support for DM patients, and roles of advanced nursing care for DM patients, cancer patients, older adult patients and chronic kidney disease patients.

 

 

Reporting by Sathaphorn Onlamun

Overseas visiting professors from University of Health Sciences Lao PDR visit our faculty

 

On February 2, 2023, Associate Professor Wimorat Sriraj, MD, Associate Dean for Research and International Relations Affairs, welcomed delegates from the University of Health Sciences, Lao PDR, to our faculty. The delegates were:

  1. Dr. Bounthom Samountry, President
  2. Dr. Phouvang Sengmeaung, Dean, Faculty of Medicine
  3. Dr. Alongkone Phengsavanh, Vice Dean, Faculty of Medicine
  4. Dr. Sounantha Souvanhlasy, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy
  5. Dr. Molina Choummanivong, Director, Office of Administrative Affairs
  6. Dr. Souksavanh Phanhpaseuth, Dean, Faculty of Nursing
  7. Dr. Sourideth Sengchanh, Head, Department of Pediatrics
  8. Dr. Chanpheng Pathana, Head, Department of International Relations
  9. Dr. Chitdavone Her, Lecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy
  10. Dr. Khamtim Samountry, Vice Dean, Faculty of Public Health

On this occasion they discussed the development of collaborative-research and clinical skills development projects between the two institutions.

 

 

 

Reporting by Sathaphorn Onlamun

 

Moving Forward together: MD KKU and medical faculty of UHS Lao PDR

 

On February 2, 2023, Associate Professor Kamonwan Jenwitheesuk, MD, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University shared information on MD-KKU’S academic developments with Dr. Bounthom Samountry, the President of the University of Health Sciences. Lao PDR, and his colleagues.

The presentation was entitle “Journey and Transformation of Advanced Clinical Teaching of MD KKU”.  This MD KKU transformation began in 2014 aiming at the universal standards of World Federation of Medical Education (WFME).  Three learning centers were also recently established to mark the 50th anniversary of MD-KKU;

  • Clinical Skill Laboratory as a learning center for medical students.
  • Simulation Center is a learning center for postgraduate students to practice their skills with patients.
  • Advance Skill Learning Center for cadaveric education 

Colleagues of Dr. Bounthom Samountry, President, UHS included:

  1. Dr. Phouvang Sengmeaung, Dean, Faculty of Medicine
  2. Dr. Alongkone Phengsavanh, Vice Dean, Faculty of Medicine
  3. Dr. Sounantha Souvanhlasy, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy
  4. Dr. Molina Choummanivong, Director, Office of Administrative Affairs
  5. Dr. Souksavanh Phanhpaseuth, Dean, Faculty of Nursing
  6. Dr. Sourideth Sengchanh, Head, Department of Pediatrics
  7. Dr. Chanpheng Pathana, Head, Department of International Relations
  8. Dr. Chitdavone Her, Lecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy
  9. Dr. KhamTim Samountry, Vice Dean of Faculty Public Health

 

 

MD KKU welcomes visiting professor from University of Toronto Canada

 

On January 24, 2023, Associate Professor Apichat Jiravuttipong, MD, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, welcomed Professor David Wong, MD, an expert from the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada, to our faculty.

Professor Wong has participated in the MD–KKU overseas visiting professor program in our Department of Anesthesiology between January 23 and 28, 2023. The visit’s objectives are to provide academic sessions and clinical teaching on airway management, and to seek possible collaborative research opportunities and agreements between our institutions. The specific objectives are:

1. To contribute to academic and clinical teaching on the management of respiratory tract or airway or respiratory system for pediatric and adult patients who either undergo general anesthesia (GA) or have airway management problems with emphasis on airway ultrasonography, emergency front-of-neck access, supra-glottic airway-guided intubation and apneic oxygenation;

2. To develop co-research project(s) on airway management in order to help promote specialization and potential of our staff on airway research, which is a critical clinical knowledge area for the department;

3. To provide opportunities for medical staff and residents in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Otorhinolaryngology to share their opinions and knowledge, and to practice their English skills.

 

 

 

Reporting by Sathaphorn Onlamun